On a Wing(Man) and a Prayer
by ElysiaDreaming
Summary: Jaune has trouble talking to a certain lovely redhead, and Ren decides to pitch in and help. Happy (belated) RWBY Relationship week! This is NOT the Yaoi you're looking for. Oneshot.


**A/N: Note to self: Never listen to sad love songs while writing…otherwise stuff like this happens. Anyways, I was busy this week, so it's a little late, but for RWBY Relationship Week I got Jaune and Ren. I don't write Yaoi, but I thought: For the only two guys (CRDL doesn't count, they're jerks) in the series, they sure are lacking in a bunch of awesome bro moments. Here's one of them**

**-Rafen**

* * *

**On a Wing(man) and a Prayer**

Jaune threw himself face-first onto his bed, exhausted. After yet another of Professor Port's painful classes, this time involving himself and a horde of Beowolves, all Jaune could think about right now was the welcoming abyss of sleep. Well…that and his beautiful flame-haired partner.

More specifically, he was thinking about his monumental failures whenever he tried to find the courage to talk to her about something other than academics. Every morning he woke up telling himself that this would be the day, that he would finally make a move. But every time he tried to make a move…he hesitated.

So he bided his time, promising that one day they would be together. Perhaps he was too preoccupied with his own efforts to recognize hers for what they were; a hand over his, or her moving an inch or two closer to him when they invariably sat together. No, in his eyes, she was interested in nobody, and he didn't stand a chance.

_I don't deserve her, anyways. She's smart, funny, nice, beautiful, everything a guy could ever ask for. Why would she ever go for me?_

But he nonetheless tried to convince himself otherwise, hoping for a small chance to prove his worth. And he'd gotten many, only to blow them to oblivion. Just earlier he had tried to show off in front of the whole class, though in all honesty there was only one person he was trying to impress. He had collapsed his shield and charged a quartet of Beowolves with only his sword, trusting in his Aura and speed to protect him.

* * *

For the first few seconds it had gone perfectly. He had decapitated the first Grimm that tried to rush him, impaling a second one through the neck and severing its windpipe with a flick of a wrist. Then it all started going downhill. The third Beowolf had parried his blow with its claws, then bit down on the blade and wrenched it out of his grasp.

The fourth one had somehow gotten behind him, and without warning the unarmed blond boy was sent flying across the floor. Weaponless and near-defenceless, he had tried to attack the wolves with only his fists. While Yang and Ruby had whooped with enthusiasm, Pyrrha was noticeably silent.

Then the two surviving Beowolves had combined their strength to overpower him, and his Aura dropped all the way to the red. Everyone in the seats had let out a gasp, Pyrrha's loudest of all, but he didn't notice. He was far too busy trying to survive against the flurry of blows he was taking, a final smack to the head knocking him into a wall and out of the fight.

It had taken the fortuitous intervention of the burly professor himself to save Jaune from the Grimm, and he had left that class with his head hung low. Pyrrha had tried to comfort him, but he had simply brushed her aside with barely a second thought.

* * *

_Yet another example of why I don't deserve her._

The blond tried to roll over in his bed, wincing as a loose spring in the mattress brushed against an especially tender bruise. Including the dark purple blotch on his shoulder, he was nursing a total of a dozen injuries, none of them serious but every single one of them painful. He shifted an ice pack he had received from the school nurse to his black eye, wishing fervently for his Aura to recover so he could heal himself. No such luck for the boy, though.

Giving up on relaxing, Jaune slammed his head back on the bed and covered it with his pillow. He strangled a cry as yet another wound sent a jolt of pain coursing through him, settling instead for a muted grunt that was a whole lot manlier. It didn't help that Cardin Winchester had resumed tormenting him, though in much more subtle ways than before.

* * *

The other day he had returned to his room to find his bed a mess, sheets torn and soiled by unmentionable liquids and a crude approximation of a crucial part of the male anatomy drawn on his pillow in what he sincerely hoped was mayonnaise. It was immediately obvious who had been responsible, but without any non-circumstantial and admittedly biased evidence there was no way to implicate team CRDL. Rather than reporting them or taking revenge, he had simply spent a whole afternoon cleaning up, washing his hands a few hundred times and buying quite a few bottles of disinfectant. Even afterwards the stench of bodily fluids had lingered on his bed for a week on end, and he had spent quite a few restless nights on the roof just trying to get some fresh air.

His team had noticed his lack of sleep, of course, but any concerned questions were politely but bluntly deflected, with him blaming anything from bad dreams to unicorns in his bed, depending on who was currently interrogating him. Even Pyrrha had eventually given up, with him citing homework as an excuse to not have combat practice with her.

* * *

All in all, it had reminded him of the fact that despite all that the students of Beacon were fighting for, there still existed people in this world that were trying to get the jump on Jaune Arc. Now that on its own would be fine, if not for the fact that all Jaune wanted was to live his life unmolested.

* * *

Last Sunday, team JNPR had decided to go out to Vale City, to shop around and enjoy their day off. Nora had dragged Ren off to a candy store, leaving Jaune and Pyrrha alone together. An awkward silence later, and he was about to just faceplant in frustration when she had proposed a visit to the museum. He had readily agreed, eager to save face in front of his lovely partner.

It was a short walk to the Vale Historium, with her carrying the conversation and him nodding along with the occasional interjection. He had mostly spent the time admiring his partner's lithe body and piercing green eyes, his own often straying to her fairly revealed chest and midriff. He didn't know it, but she could practically feel his eyes upon her, and she revelled in the attention. Not too obviously, though. If anything, Pyrrha was something of a traditionalist, her romantic side insisting that her crush make the first move.

However, given Jaune's rather prevalent reluctance, she was understandably impatient and open to suggestions. Nonetheless, when they arrived at the museum, Pyrrha had immediately dragged him to the aviation section. She had excitedly shown him the long history of powered flight, starting at the fragile wood-and-canvas construction of the _Silver Spear_, Vale's first Dustplane, to the Atlean fighters of the Great War, to the modern-day Bullheads that were the staple of private security agencies and Hunters in a hurry.

He'd soaked it all up, though the specifics generally blew past him. His entrancing companion had captivated him, his own cerulean eyes lost in her emerald ones. It took a while for him to notice he was staring, though, but once he did he turned away violently with a light blush on his cheeks. She didn't visibly notice, though, instead leading him by his arm to the military section of the museum.

A blush was still present on his face at the close contact when they arrived at the first section, a selection of flint arrowheads and jade knives littering the display cases. A stylized drawing of early humanity fighting against the Grimm dominated the wall opposite, and Pyrrha took a moment to admire it before striding into the next era. Now it was a few Mistrallian shortswords and _hoplons_, or round shields. Pyrrha had actually let out a little uncharacteristic squeal when she saw the weapons of her native land, with Jaune smiling a little at the adorable sight as her back was turned.

Sadly it was a short moment that didn't last for long, as Jaune was led into the Great War section of the timeline. This was a long one, detailing the accomplishments of the Winchesters and the Roses, along with a few short blurbs explaining the lives of some significant Faunus commanders. General Lagune had his own little section, the description downplaying his defeat at Fort Castle and instead focusing on his past victories in pointless skirmishes.

None of this was of any interest to the blond, though, having learned much of it in the long and seemingly unending lessons of Professor Oobleck. Pyrrha continued to attract his attention, her beautiful face lightening up the room just with a smile. She gave a little lecture on Mistral's involvement in the war, then took him to the next section.

He walked along with unenthusiastically, but her next sentence had shaken him back into unwelcome reality.

"Janvier D'Arc-en-Ciel…hey! Isn't that your ancestor?"

And with those seven simple words, he was thrown into a world of emotional turmoil. Thoughts of inadequacy flew through his head, followed quickly by a firestorm of despair. He felt as if all everyone cared about was his family's past, with him being a poor excuse for a shade of his ancestry's glory.

_Even Pyrrha can see that I'm terrible in comparison to my family. What's the point?_

He had given her a curt nod and then promptly excused himself, bemoaning himself in the washroom while repeatedly splashing his face with freezing water in an attempt to dispel the tears. When he came out he was unusually silent, though his partner could see that his eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. She had the good graces not to comment, however, but the rest of the day passed by without further words.

* * *

Even on the best and brightest days, his life just had to be destroyed by everything. Jaune's memories had sunk him into a whirling cyclone of sorrow, leaving him trembling and curled up in a ball in its wake.

He remembered how such a terrible person he was to Pyrrha that night on the rooftop, the words that he wished he never said. How her normally vibrant eyes had turned dull and glassy, how her ordinarily cheery face had become downcast and almost…disappointed. Disappointed, like everybody else.

That's all he was, really. Just a shadow of his past, forever eclipsed by someone with the same name but a totally different life. A collection of lies, stolen thoughts and legacies. Why would Pyrrha care about him, anyways?

So he sat like that for an hour, two hours, maybe three. Just wallowing in his own misery, despairing in his mistakes and bemoaning lost opportunities. It was a Friday night. Everyone was out anyways, so that at least gave him some time to himself. What to do, though?

He had to admit, even self-pity eventually grew tiring. Jaune lifted the pillow from his face, taking care not to dislodge the icepacks he had placed. He didn't want to disturb any of his injuries, although thankfully his Aura had recovered and they had started to heal ever so slightly.

Jaune thought for a moment, chose the least reasonable course of action, and went for it.

And so Lie Ren of team JNPR found his team leader sketching in his notebook as he walked in, pencil scratching furiously against the paper. The blond didn't move from his bed, too engrossed in his art to notice his quiet teammate. Ren stood at the door for a while, content to simply wait for Jaune to finally figure out why there was suddenly a light breeze in the room.

Jaune finished up another curve on his drawing, giving it a little smudge for colour's sake and adding a quick layer of shading to include some depth. Satisfied, he leaned back to get a better view of the overall picture.

_Hmm…still pretty good, but could use a dash of colour. Now where did I leave my mar—wait. Why is there wind in here?_

Jaune looked up at the now-open door, his eyes open in astonishment as he tried to process what was going on here.

"Hey Jaune. What's up?"

The blond took a second for his brain to get in gear, scrambling to hide his drawing as he stood up in haste. Trying and failing to look casual, he settled for at least trying to assuage his paranoia.

"H-h-how long have you been standing here?"

Ren leaned back on the wall nonchalantly, flicking a bit of hair out of his eyes before replying.

"Oh, not long. Just a few minutes. Nice drawing of Pyrrha, by the way. It's pretty lifelike."

Jaune's face heated up to a deep shade of crimson, matching the hair of a certain someone that he was sketching. He tried to stammer a response, but the dark-haired boy continued before he could.

"The way you got all those details…wow. You really must have a good memory, unless you've been staring at her for every waking moment. You haven't been doing that, have you?"

He gave his embarrassed leader a friendly wink, relishing the way that he blushed and stumbled over a proper way to reply that wouldn't send him further over the edge. He was tempted to go a little further, just for the hell of it, but caught himself as he remembered the thrashing that Arc had gotten from the Beowolves earlier. The smile on his face disappeared as he noticed a tiny bit of red around his leader's eyes; his own pink ones glanced down at the portrait of Pyrrha.

Now that he got a closer look, he saw a hint of sadness in the redhead's face as she turned away in the picture, her full lips out in what almost was a pout. There was already a hint of black and dark blue in the picture, something that Ren guessed reflected Jaune's mood. He gave a little sigh, then sat down on his own bed across from the blond's.

"Jaune…you know that if there's anything wrong, you can talk to us, right?"

The blond said nothing, tilting his gaze downwards at the flimsy piece of paper in his hand. He stared at his heart's outpouring, the unwilling object of his desires outlined in graphite and his tears. Even as he admired her face, saddened as it was, his own emotions grew to mirror his drawing. He saw nothing but a deep sense of loss, of disappointment and failure, her beauty only further deepening his despair.

"_I…I don't deserve her. I'll never be good enough for Pyrrha."_

His words came out in a hushed whisper, barely audible over the sounds of his tears slowly dripping onto the sketch. He choked back a wail of despair, instead gently placing the portrait aside and covering his eyes with his hands.

"_I know it's naive of me, but I keep hoping that maybe, just maybe, she might love me back. But deep down, I think I always knew that I never had a chance to begin with. When she chose me as her partner, I thought it was a sign of something more. Now, I realize that she acted that way out of pity for my helplessness, nothing more. Ren…I…I don't know how to feel anymore. My heart is saying one thing, but everything else is screaming another. What do I do?"_

Ren smiled kindly, though Jaune's current view was rather restricted. It was the thought that counted after all. He leaned over and patted his teammate on the back, doing his best to comfort him in his time of need. What he spoke next surprised the both of them, not by its logic, but by its depth.

"In that case then, Jaune, follow your heart. Life is short, and you don't want to end it regretting every lost opportunity. You're still young, and you have so much potential. I see it. Nora sees it. Ruby sees it. Everybody sees it, Pyrrha most of all. Don't waste it in depression; take a chance on her. Trust me. You have more of a chance with her than I did with Nora, and look where we are today! So c'mon. Take a leap of faith."

Jaune lifted his face to stare at his ponytailed teammate, blinking away tears as he attempted to comprehend what Ren just said. Somehow.

"_Ren…do you really *sniff* mean that?"_

The green-clad boy was silent for a moment, pensive. When he spoke again, it was with a strange aura of…doubt, followed quickly by renewed reassurance.

"I'm sure. Trust me on that one. There was a time when Nora and I were the worst of enemies, but eventually we learned to kiss and make up, and we've grown on each other. I finally managed to muster the courage to ask her out the night we got our Beacon acceptance letters, and I have to admit I was shaking and sweating the whole way through. She somehow understood those quiet, hesitant words, and the rest, as they say, is history.

"Nora and I are practically opposites with nothing in common except for fighting, too, but we both managed to pull through. Meanwhile you and Pyrrha are practically made for each other. So don't worry, you definitely have more than just a chance. Haven't you seen the way she practically _glows_ whenever you're nearby? She's obsessed with you, even if you can't notice it."

Jaune blushed a little at that comment, a knot in his stomach seemingly untying itself and granting him a small measure of merciful relief. Of course, said knot was immediately replaced by a sense of nervousness that permeated his mind, and he spoke up again, a little louder this time.

"…I guess. …Are you sure she likes me?"

Ren smiled, wider this time, answering calmly and with confidence.

"I'm sure. Now c'mon. You need ideas to ask Pyrrha out, don't you?"

Jaune nodded hesitantly, and Ren uncharacteristically grinned with glee.

"Great. Then let's get started. First of all, what does she like?"

He thought for a moment, allowing himself to focus on a memory of the flame-haired beauty.

"Well…she does like flying…"

"Great! Then we start with that. Why not take her out to see the warplane museum? I'm sure she loves history, judging from her rapt attention in Oobleck's classes."

Jaune didn't even bother waiting for a moment, shaking his head and flat-out rejecting the proposal.

"We already went to the Vale Historiam the other day. No point in going to see another dusty old collection."

Ren nodded reluctantly, then looked up with an idea.

"How about taking her out for a flight? I don't suppose you have a pilot's licence?"

The blond looked distinctly green at the thought, and his teammate remembered the girls of team RWBY occasionally calling him 'Vomit Boy'. Probably airsick, then.

"Er…not really, no. I…uh…tend to get extreme motion sickness. No flying for me, thanks. Anyways, where could I get the money to afford a plane?"

He glanced up, and was greeted by a horrifying sight: Ren was smiling in the creepiest way possible, and it looked as if he would break out in evil laughter at any moment. Jaune suddenly felt a lot less secure, and rather nervous. Perhaps…it wasn't the best idea to listen to Ren's ideas…

Too late now, Jaune thought, as Ren started speaking.

"Oh, don't worry Ren. It just so happens that I _do_ have a private pilot's license, just one of my many hobbies. And while I don't have the Lien to rent a plane, I know a certain Snow Angel who does…"

* * *

This, Jaune thought, was not one of Ren's better ideas.

"_What do you mean you want me to buy you a plane?!"_

Jaune winced as an eardrum popped from the white-haired girl's outburst, trying to take a step back but only to have Ren block his escape route. Sighing internally, Jaune raised his hands in a calming manner and trying to do his best to explain.

"Weiss, I'm not asking you to buy a Dustplane. I'm only asking you to lend me the money to rent a plane, that's all!"

The Schnee heiress did not look convinced, crossing her arms and _harrumphing_ contemptuously.

"Like I would believe the likes of _you_. Last time I lent you five hundred Lien to buy the new YBox Zero, and you still haven't paid me back! And now you're asking for even _more?_"

The two boys were in the corridor outside the rooms of teams JNPR and RWBY, with Weiss inside her dorm's doorway and screaming her head off. The rest of their teams were in town, Ruby and Yang having decided to go have a girl's afternoon out with Pyrrha and Nora. Blake said something about a date with Sun Wukong, some Atlean Faunus she met a week or so ago.

Weiss, on the other hand, had elected to stay in her room and catch up on some much-needed beauty sleep, her nights having been disrupted by the hyperactive girls on her team. After sleeping in for a good hour or so, she had been gently awakened by a quiet, almost sheepish knock on the door. Not that the manner in which Jaune knocked really mattered to her, though. She was perfectly content to vent some of her frustration at whoever was there, violent knocking or gentle.

Jaune thought quickly, attempting to find a way out of this mess that Ren had gotten him into. The green-clad boy in question was standing casually behind him, his body blocking Weiss's visibility of the SMG that he was prodding his leader's back with.

"It's different this time! I swear I'll pay you back! Look, it's only for a day, and then I'll return the plane and give you back the Lien."

She still seemed reluctant, however, so he decided to switch tactics. He employed something that he had learned from Ruby, something that he knew Weiss could never resist. Sticking out his bottom lip in a pout and widening his eyes, he threw in a bit of quiver on the lip and did his best to make his eyes water.

"B-b-b-but…Dammit Jaune! AAAAAAH FINE! You can have the Lien!"

Jaune nearly did a victory dance right then and there, though judging by the heiress's mood right now he settled just for a dozen muttered thank-you's.

_I knew it! The puppy face never fails! I'll need to remember to thank Ruby for that idea later…_

He must have somehow voiced his thoughts out loud, though, as Weiss's face took on the same look as Ren's did: Creepy, scary, foreboding, and downright disturbing. He didn't know what she was thinking, but he definitely wouldn't like it.

"But…only if you tell me _why_ exactly you need the plane. Taking someone up, or just want to fly, Vomit Boy?"

Jaune narrowed his eyes at the nickname, but Ren added a little more pressure with StormFlower and he quickly relaxed again lest he be peppered with bullets. With the heiress being his only hope for getting the idea to work, she hand him at her mercy.

"…Fine. I was planning to go take Pyrrha up for a flight and ask her out. Happy now?"

Weiss's uncharacteristically high-pitched squeal of excitement was audible from across campus.

* * *

Pyrrha had had a very long day, and although it was certainly enjoyable, all she wanted right now was to go back to her room and relax, preferably with her dreamy blond partner. …Not that she'd ever publically admit that, of course.

The rest of the girls were already aware of her rather obvious crush on the leader of team JNPR, relentlessly teasing her about Jaune whenever they got the chance. However, while she certainly blushed at every remark, she steadfastedly remained silent at every probing question.

Oh, no. She refused to give Yang and Nora another point of leverage against her, the secret of her drooling at night having been revealed by her warhammer-wielding teammate.

The four girls had spent a productive afternoon perusing the shops and stores of downtown Vale, taking in all the sights and sounds of the Vytal Festival. The festival was in full swing, having started a week prior. As a result, all the shops were open for business even on a Friday afternoon, even the sweet shops, to Ruby and Nora's delight.

Pyrrha stepped out of the taxi that they had taken, shopping bags filled with clothes and accessories in her arms. She bid a farewell to the other three, saying she needed some sleep. What she really meant was that she wanted to make sure Jaune was okay, of course, but she definitely didn't want them to know that.

She decided to take the scenic route back to the room, going through the spacious Beacon Gardens to admire the statues and decorative ponds that adorned the greens. She spent much of the time lost in thought, of course, dreaming of her oblivious blond partner.

However, never in her wildest dreams did she imagine the sight that currently confronted her.

Jaune was standing in the middle of a wide open field, a few juniper plants scattered here and there. What really surprised her, though, was the full-size light aircraft that sat next to Jaune, a grinning lotus-wearing boy waving in the cockpit.

She walked closer, her bags abandoned on the grass in her amazement and haste.

"Hey Pyrrha. Um…do you maybe…want to go out with me?"

She restrained herself from squealing in excitement and happiness, going forward to embrace the blond and surprisingly to both him and herself, giving him a light kiss on the cheek.

"I'd love to, Jaune. But…uh…can we go for a ride first?"

Her partner did his best to fight down his blushing cheeks, cracking a cheesy smile and helping her into the aircraft. They both flushed at the hand contact, with Ren in the pilot's seat laughing at their awkwardness together. The two didn't mind too terribly, though. They were more than happy just to be together.

Pyrrha oohed and aahed at the landscape flashing by underneath them, Ren playing the tour guide and pointing out the occasional landmark. Jaune, for his part, actually sat back and enjoyed the flight, his motion sickness being temporarily cured by one of Ren's herbal mixes. Sometime near the beginning, their hands found each other and stayed there, and a wide smile was visible on both their faces by the end of it.

They landed just as the sun dipped below the horizon, the sky stained a deep orange and red glow. Pyrrha gave him another little kiss as he helped her out of the aircraft, giggling as she walked back to the dorm. Jaune made as if to follow, but a steady hand on his shoulder halted him.

"Let her go, Jaune. You have the rest of your lives together, after all. Oh, and one more thing: Next time Nora and I go on a date, you're my wingman."

All in all it was, Jaune thought, a fair trade.

**End**

* * *

**Hope you liked it. Read, review, and enjoy.**

**Regards,**

**-Rafen**


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